Chapter 7

"All human wisdom is summed up in these two words - 'wait' and 'hope'"

Bucky mused over the familiar words, running his thumb over the worn pages of his copy of 'The Count of Monte Cristo.' They normally brought him some semblance of peace, believing that he just needed to be patient and determined in getting what he wanted. Although, Bucky was beginning to believe that having his silent appeal realized wasn't happening.

He just wanted his best friend back.

Before - before, he and Stevie were more than brothers. Their bond was steady and secure, near unbreakable in the face of the dangers they encountered every day as the youngest members of The Howling Commandos. It was a friendship born from blood and was bolstered rather than fracturing when Tony created a spot for himself between them. Tony had a way of making each of them better in different ways. Steve softened, gentled, in his presence, overcome by a love that burned bright and absolute. Bucky, however, became more than just The Commandos' heir's right hand. He listened whenever Tony spoke, following each, and every, one of his incessant ramblings and learning the basics to an array of topics ranging from pop culture to the inner workings of mechanical engineering. Bucky became more confident and more himself when Tony entered into their lives.

When James Rogers set him and Stevie up to take the fall for Tony's return to Howard Stark, Bucky wanted to squeeze the very air out of his boss' lungs - dreamt about it even years after - but begrudgingly followed Steve's lead in waiting for the right moment. Although intellectually he understood the fault lay with James Rogers, the guilt still haunted Bucky to this day. He's a protector, a bodyguard of sorts; that was the job he signed up for when he and Steve became inseparable. But when those men came for Tony back in Brooklyn so many years ago, Bucky was helpless to stop them.

After that, Bucky swore to himself that he would never be helpless again. However, he refused to leave Steve behind when it came time to enlist, so he spent the next two years training his best friend to build enough muscle to be accepted by the army. His ridiculous growth spurt helped because soon enough, Steve was even taller than him.

They spent long nights discussing their plans for after their deployment. Steve had his heart set on returning to Brooklyn to take over The Commandos and then using their resources to find Tony from there. Once James Rogers was out of the way - and they had at least fifty different plans for him, all of them brutal - there would be nobody to oppose their decision to seek out the heir to Stark Industries.

Tony deserved to know the truth, no matter how much he probably despised them. According to the media, he'd moved on from his burgeoning relationship with Steve with someone from MIT. They couldn't hold something like that against him, though, not after what happened. Steve was never the same after losing him the first time, and Bucky knew he just wanted a chance to set the record straight - to let Tony know that he never stopped loving him.

However, they never got the chance because on Tony's eighteenth birthday, near the end of Steve and Bucky's first year in the army, Tony Stark went missing. His father, Howard, never once publicly commented on his son's disappearance, so the media was forced to speculate on what happened.

None of it was good.

Steve…

Steve wasn't the same after that. All of his eagerness and hopeful planning for After transformed into something else. He became vicious and infinitely more dangerous in the field.

While it worried Bucky, who was dealing with his own grief at his old friend's disappearance, it earned Steve respect within their unit. His strategic mind sharpened into something highly desirable to the Brass when he threw all of his efforts into combat rather than planning for The Commandos. As a result, they were persuaded into re-upping their contracts after the first four years, although it didn't take much convincing on the front end because neither Steve nor Bucky was ready to return to Brooklyn.

After that, they ended up recruited into the Special Forces unit with fellow soldiers who would later become Avengers. Their team were experts in their given fields: Natasha Romanov - melee weapons and subterfuge, Clint Barton - communications and archery, Thor Odinson - engineering and sabotage, and Dr. Bruce Banner - medical and demolition. After his promotion to Captain, Steve led the team while Bucky handled ranged weapon encounters and firearm breakdowns.

From the first day of training, the team realized they had created something special in coming together. They melded together flawlessly, leading to the overwhelming success of each of their missions. Natasha and Clint were as close as siblings, just like Steve and Bucky, while Thor and Bruce found common ground in their respective fields. Steve slowly but surely earned the utmost respect and loyalty from their teammates, expertly formulating their attack plans and saving each of their lives time and time again.

For a moment during their deployment, Bucky could almost see a glimpse of the boy he used to know. His smile was less strained, and the laugh lines were more prominent in the creases of his eyes. Steve even started sketching again, something Bucky hadn't seen since before Tony was presumed dead. Of course, all of his projects revolved around the same dark eyes and wicked grin, but at least he was putting pen to paper rather than tearing it up entirely. If the army hadn't fucked everything up, then Bucky might have eventually gotten his best friend back.

Due to their success, the classified missions the Brass sent them on became less and less official, forcing them to work on a more independent basis without the army's backing. Instead of intel retrieval or hostage recovery, their unit eliminated terrorist cells. The first few years weren't all that bad, each of them serving their country the best way they knew how and taking pride in their work.

The problem came when the evidence to support those missions began to dwindle. It took them a while to catch on, each of them feeling more and more uncomfortable with their roles in ending the War on Terror. But, eventually, Steve pushed back against the Brass' orders. They realized they had become the army's personal Hit Squad and subsequently refused to continue marching to the beat of their drum.

Apparently, the government didn't appreciate their autonomous attitude. As a result, their final mission, the one that banded them together for better or worse, ended up leading them into a trap. Their unit went in believing they were saving a handful of high-priority POWs. When in reality, the Brass was cleaning up loose ends with an explosion resulting in each of their death certificates and the loss of Bucky's left arm.

As it was, Steve managed to save them all by the skin of his teeth, calling in a favor from a friend in Wakanda to get them the hell out of Iraq. T'Challa was kind and powerful, a king in his own right, successfully hiding six 'dead' soldiers in his country that was much more advanced than anyone in the world believed. It took months for all of them to recover physically and mentally, while Bucky received a metal prosthetic to account for his injury.

When it was finally time to return to the states, Natasha and Clint reached out to their underground contacts to set the team up with fake passports and IDs while Bucky got in touch with a lawyer friend of his in Hell's Kitchen. Matt Murdock and his partner, Foggy Wilson, owed Steve and Bucky at least a dozen favors from their Commandos days. So the boys cashed in a few to ensure the government allocated the teams death benefits to each of their next of kin listed on their enlistment forms. It took another few months to get everything set up correctly, but another one of Steve's associates from his time in The Commandos, Scott Lang, was an expert in computers. He was able to get a message out to other contacts to set up a base of operations for the team in New York and transfer the death benefits to an off-shore account for the team members to draw on.

From there, all that was left was to return home.

It was a sobering experience, to say the least. Steve and Bucky had dedicated eight years of their life to the military, while Natasha, Clint, Bruce, and Thor each served for at least six before the Brass tried to have them killed. They were free now, able to live their own lives without Big Brother looking over their shoulders, though they had to be careful not to be recognized. However, their loyalty to Steve encouraged them to stay in New York, banding together to form something so much more than just a team.

They'd been cut off from communication with the outside world the past few years during their classified missions, so it was a shock to discover information on the gang war between Hydra and The Commandos. They also learned James Rogers had been killed about a year before they returned, effectively disbanding The Commandos and allowing the terrorist organization to flood the streets.

Steve and Bucky agreed that they could trust the team with their background in The Commandos for full transparency of what they were walking into. To absolutely no one's surprise, they all encouraged Steve to take up the mantle again. While the others trusted their Captain with this new responsibility, Bucky thought it might be a way to bring his best friend a kernel of happiness. Unfortunately, the military had done its best to burn the heart right out of him. Steve would never be the same again, despite his new title as Captain of The Avengers, New York's newest mafia gang.

Over the next three years, they grew in numbers and territory. Sam Wilson, a former Air Force pararescue airman, joined them after the military covered up his partner Riley's death overseas by friendly fire. Steve enlisted Matt and Foggy's help once again to bring justice to Riley, earning Steve Sam's loyalty. Wanda and Pietro Maximoff came next, sixteen-year-old twins from Sokovia who were forced into a prostitution ring by Hydra in return for passage out of their war zone of a country. Steve led The Avengers on a raid of the sex club in his first operation to take back Commandos' territory, and the twins decided to remain under his protection.

Once they brought two teenagers into the fold, Steve and Bucky couldn't find it within themselves to turn away Peter Parker, a fifteen-year-old kid who lost almost every adult figure in his life. His parents died in a plane crash when he was young, leaving him in the custody of his aunt and uncle. Ben and May Parker did their best to raise him, but growing up in Queens with Hydra taking over the Burrows was dangerous, especially when one is law enforcement. When Ben Parker died at Hydra's hands, his widow fell on hard times. Young Peter Parker found The Captain and his Avengers through word of mouth, pleading for them to help his aunt. Steve was never one to turn away kids, so he agreed to pay off May's debt in exchange for information. Ever since then, Peter has followed him around like a lost puppy.

Loki, Thor's estranged adopted brother from Norway, heard about the explosion in Iraq and had his own suspicions of the circumstances surrounding his brother's death. He showed up on The Avengers' doorstep three months after their return from the states demanding to see Thor and then refused to leave after a crushing hug that neither of them seemed prepared for. Nobody except Thor was quite convinced they could trust Loki, but he proved useful enough to allow him to remain.

Steve and Bucky were on patrol one night when they witnessed a brutal car accident near the Brooklyn Bridge which almost killed Dr. Stephen Strange. If they hadn't shattered the glass and ripped off the driver's side door to pull Strange out of the wreckage, he would have got caught in the subsequent explosion. Instead, Steve and Bucky rushed him to a hospital quick enough to get him into surgery, effectively saving his life and ensuring that Strange would have future use of his hands. Once he recovered, Strange vowed to operate on any of The Avengers if the injuries were severe enough to be outside Dr. Banner's capabilities.

From there, their name and word of their ruthlessness spread. While better known within the Five Burrows, Gangs and organizations who opposed Hydra sought an audience with The Captain to form alliances. The X-Men, led by Charles Xavier - Professor X, along with Scott Summers - Cyclops, Henry McCoy - Beast, Logan - Wolverine, Robert Drake - Iceman, and Jean Grey - Phoenix, fell in line. Along with the Four, led by Reed Richards, with Ben Grimm, Susan Storm and her brother Johnny joined the upcoming war against Hydra.

With Steve's expertise in battle tactics and strategy, The Avengers' flawless record, and a small army of specialists behind them, The Avengers tore through Hydra in a matter of days. They dismantled their enemies from the inside out, mercilessly leaving nobody alive and their broken bodies in the streets serving as a message to anyone who dared oppose The Avengers.

When Steve got the opportunity to take revenge against Johann Schmidt, he took it savagely. The Avengers and their allies assumed that Steve was avenging his father's death, but Bucky knew better. James Rogers is the reason Tony Stark was taken away, and Steve never forgave him for that. The two of them had planned out their retribution in excruciating detail for the last thirteen years, and Schmidt stole their chance to act on it.

Steve ensured that Schmidt lived up to his moniker of 'The Red Skull' by literally tearing the skin off of his face.

It was brutal and inhumane, but Steve's eyes lost a fraction of the venom they carried after that, so Bucky didn't complain. Instead, he simply remained by his best friend's side, embracing patience and searching for hope that Steve wasn't completely lost to him.

From then on, they lived as Kings and Queens of New York. The public was rightfully frightened of The Avengers' power, but they generally approved of their win over Hydra. The NYPD was so backlogged in paperwork and red tape that they never had time to recover any evidence to attempt convicting any of The Avengers or their allies in the gang war. Meanwhile, Clint and Natasha began working their magic, creating powerful connections within the department until both the Police Commissioner, Nicholas J. Fury, and the Department Chief, Phil Coulson, were in The Avengers' pockets.

They were untouchable.

Which is why Sam's frantic interruption, when he burst into the quiet sitting room with wide, concerned eyes, sent a chill down Bucky's spine. "Barnes, Cap is asking for The Winter Soldier. Something big must be going down."

Bucky was off his feet within seconds, grabbing Sam's shoulder on the way out and barking, "Tell me what happened."

The fact that someone had been in the warehouse was enough to piss him off because he and Steve had set a mandate that under no circumstances should Building 616 be disturbed. The Avengers, as well as The X-Men and The Four, were all aware of their ban on the warehouse.

So what the hell was someone doing breaking into it?

Steve was waiting for him by the door to Interrogation 3, paler than Bucky could remember ever seeing him, and sucking in short, breathless puffs of air like he was about to have an asthma attack, something that hadn't happened since he was fifteen years old.

"Stevie?" Bucky asked warily, slowing down to a jog until he stopped in front of his best friend. "What's going on?"

Steve licked his lips and then shook his head, once, twice, before gesturing towards the open door. "Tell me I'm not crazy," he whispered. "Tell me I haven't lost my goddamn mind."

Bucky frowned, his anxiety ratcheting up to a whole new level as he inched past Steve. Inside was a standard recording table with a giant one-way mirror etched into the wall so that they could observe their targets in Interrogation 3. When his gaze finally landed on the man chained to the metal table, sitting opposite an incredibly pissed-off Clint, Bucky's heart stuttered in his chest.

Tony Stark was unmistakable. He'd grown, that much was obvious, but his intelligent brown eyes and wicked smirk were exactly the same. His facial hair was trimmed into a sharp goatee, accentuating his jawline and slender neck. Instead of the expensive slacks and collared shirts Bucky remembered from when they were kids, Tony wore a white tank top that showed off his thin, muscular frame and grey sweatpants rolled twice over his thin hips.

But Bucky couldn't focus on any of that.

No, he was laser-focused on the fact that Tony had a black eye, deep purple and a hint of green burgeoning above his left cheek.

Bucky's blood suddenly boiled, abruptly furious that someone had the audacity to lay a hand on his friend, on Steve's...person. On Steve's Tony.

Fuck no.

He spun around, rushing right back out of the room until he almost ran head-first into Steve. His best friend was watching his face for any reaction, any recognition. When he found it, Steve's shoulders loosened more than they had in thirteen years. "It's really him."

"It's really him," Bucky echoed in confirmation, trying to blink away the red lining his vision. "Did you see-?"

Steve's eyes darkened. "Yes." He turned towards Sam, who was looking at them with a furrow between his brow. "The man in there, he's hurt. How did it happen?" Bucky wanted to commend Steve on how even his voice sounded.

Sam swallowed nervously. "He threw a pair of knives at Clint and me," he gestured towards his shoulder wound. "And then ran off. Clint managed to take him down and knock him out with his bow to bring him here. Why, what's wrong? Who is he?"

They both ignored his further questions. In a blatant attempt to stave off his anger, Steve's teeth grit, but Bucky was already reaching for the Interrogation room handle. Steve caught his wrist before he could open it.

"What?" Bucky snarled, confused as to why Steve would drag this out any longer.

He should have known his best friend better. Instead of stopping him, Steve simply handed Bucky his Winter Soldier mask.

Right, they would reveal themselves at the right time, but for now…

Bucky donned on his mask, effectively hiding his identity and waited for Steve to slip back into the next room before shoving the door open. Two sets of eyes snapped towards him, one with self-satisfied smugness while the other watched him with visible fear. Tony was terrified of him. He must have heard stories, seen the photos and videos of The Winter Soldier's confirmed kills.

But Bucky's ire was not directed towards Tony. No, it was focused solely on the man who dared lay a hand on Tony Stark.

XX